


Fit for a Queen

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-08-30 01:43:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16755469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: When Shadow doesn't turn up for one their training sessions, Darko goes looking for her. Shadow belongs to Shadowlord13.





	Fit for a Queen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shadowlord13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowlord13/gifts).



Darko was surprised when his dear Shadow didn't turn up for training. Surprised and... honestly, very disappointed. He'd thought that his girlfriend, his queen, loved training, that she looked forward to spending time in the training arena with him. It was quite unlike her to not show up at all. She hadn't even been answering her phone, and Darko was certain that he'd actually called the right number this time. He'd checked it several times, even asked Savvy if he had the right number. She'd confirmed it. Then why was Shadow still not here, why was she making Darko wait on his own in the training room? Perhaps she no longer cared for him, perhaps she simply did not want to see him. The thought made Darko's heart ache in his chest. He hadn't wanted to drive his Shadow away, not at all. Had he been too hard in his training? Had he demanded too much from her? Was the stress of training too much for her, was she second-guessing her decision to love him and eventually betray her friends for him?

At his wits' end, Darko made his way to the stables, using a simple spell to keep the water off of him. His boots splashed through puddles, and he knew that the water would no doubt rust the spurs on his boots if he wasn't careful. But he'd carefully dry them afterwards, once he'd achieved his goal of finding his Shadow.

"Abbadon, come forth," Darko commanded once he stepped inside of the dry (but still dank) stable where the Dark Horses were stabled. It stank in here, of sulfur and partially-wet horses and manure. Someone had to clean these stalls out, but nobody was volunteering and Justin wasn't around to do that anymore. Despite lacking any magic that Darko could see, the boy had had his uses. Perhaps attempting to feed him to the sharks had been a mistake, but in his defense, it had been a last-ditch effort to see if something would suddenly awaken in Justin, to see if fear would bring out his magic. But it had only brought out Dancer's magic, forming a pair of wings that he'd never been able to summon since. Darko had tried, though, with Shadow, hoping to train the horse in flight. A Dark Horse that could fly would be quite an asset to have.

From out of the shadows of one stall, a horse appeared, purple in hue and shaped like a Jorvik Wild Horse, the smaller version that Darko had seen running around Jorvik. The broken-heart rune, the rune of Nihili, still glowed on Abbadon's chest, almost resembling the runes of the Soul Riders. Nihili's horse had always had this rune, it always came through when Darko added the final ingredient- a touch of Nihili's essence, gathered from her Pandorian prison.

Once upon a time, Abbadon had been a Soul Steed, much like Shadow's Dancer. A heart-shaped rune had glowed upon his chest, the proof that he was, indeed, Aideen's horse reincarnated, just as Nihili had been Aideen reincarnated. But that had been a very long time ago, now little more than the stuff of legends. Yet it was still enough to make Darko bow before the magnificent steed, small in stature though it may be.

"Abbadon," said Darko, rising from his bow after Abbadon snorted and gave his approval. "May I ride you? I am concerned for the wellbeing of my queen, my Shadow, and I have need of a horse. You, with your strong legs and tireless endurance, will be the best horse to find her as swiftly as possible."

Abbadon raised his head, looking at Darko down his snout as much as he could without being taller than the man. And then, Abbadon turned so that his side was to Darko, giving his permission. Darko breathed a sigh of relief and opened Abbadon's stall door, the tack materialising on the horse so that all Darko had to do was cinch the girth tighter and adjust the reins. He also needed to place the bit, though his fingers quickly shied away from the sharp teeth hidden within Abbadon's snout.

At last, Darko mounted Abbadon and rode the horse out of the stable, opening the doors in front of him and then closing them behind him with little more than a thought. Abbadon could run across the waves, but Darko both didn't want to risk being seen and didn't exactly fancy showing up covered in seafoam, so he instead took Abbadon to the Hell Portal, still set up on the helipad. With a simple spell, Darko changed the portal's destination so that he would come out on Jorvik, specifically, in the low-traffic area of the woods across the Silversong from Moorland, to the other side of the fence that closed off the Abandoned Dews Farm. The portal was surprisingly easy to make, the energy in the Harvest Counties unusually receptive to having a portal to Pandoria opened there. Darko only made note of this, however, before he rode Abbadon through the portal. He was glad that the grass here wasn't too dry, so that Abbadon wouldn't burn the island to ashes. That could not happen yet.

Though Darko had not wanted to ride Abbadon across the ocean, he felt quite comfortable riding the horse across the small gap of water that separated Silverglade from the Harvest Counties. Sitting back in his saddle, Darko began to look around, hoping to catch a glimpse of sunkissed, gold-streaked brown hair, or the familiar brown jacket that Shadow always wore. Darko also listened intently, hoping to hear her voice ringing out above the sounds of horses, chattering people (mostly young people), and the neighing of horses.

"Abbadon, locate Dancer," said Darko, speaking low enough for only the horse to hear. Abbadon's purple ears twitched in recognition, then swivelled as his nostrils flared. As Abbadon set off, Darko wished that he'd thought to create a bond with Shadow that would enable the two of them to always find each other. He had often considered creating the bond, but had always stopped before suggesting it to his queen. A bond was a rather intimate thing, after all.

Now, though, it seemed crucial that the bond should exist. Then, Darko might actually be able to find his queen when she disappeared like this. As they veered away from Moorland, fears began to creep in, making Darko's hands tremble on the reins. What if the druids had discovered evidence of his relationship with Shadow? What if they were keeping her somewhere, using her as bait for him? But if they were doing that, surely, he would have been notified somehow. Or perhaps he had been notified, but he hadn't been on the oil rig to receive that message.

Darko had never felt so scared as Abbadon's hooves and senses led them away from Moorland and along the road that led up past the blacksmith's forge and towards Silverglade Village. The village seemed to have recovered well after its encounter with the Shadow Seekers, which Darko felt a little annoyed by. Darn druids, repairing everything that Dark Core broke. He eyed the castle as they passed it, too, pondering what changes he would make to it once the world was his and Shadow's to rule.

But then, Abbadon's speed changed to a canter, quickly transitioning to a gallop once Darko repositioned himself in the saddle, clutching the reins a little tighter while leaning close to Abbadon's neck. He could hear the horse's harsh breathing in his ears, though his pounding heart almost drowned it out.

Abbadon galloped down the road past the castle before he suddenly veered off to the right, plunging down hills and leaping over the fence on his way down towards the river. Darko uttered a curse, praying to Garnok that he wouldn't fall from this steed's back. At this speed, he would definitely not escape such a fall unscathed.

But, at the bottom of the hill, Abbadon slowed, snorting and jerking his head up. Darko looked in the direction that Abbadon was pointing with his head, and his heart seemed to come to a stop as he beheld the sight of a brown-haired girl on horseback sitting astride her dapple grey gelding and gazing out over the water. But the illusion was shattered by a sob, and Darko felt his heart break as those proud shoulders suddenly slumped, the figure bowing over her horse's head as sobs shattered the peaceful day.

Without even thinking too much on his actions, Darko dismounted, leaving Abbadon to stand on the road as he made his way towards the sad figure of his queen. To his relief (and mingled despair), Shadow didn't seem to hear the jangling of his spurs over her own sobs. And so she jumped when Darko gently touched her knee. Dancer didn't, though, only angling his ear towards his rider's boyfriend.

"My Shadow?" Darko asked, his voice unusually gentle. "What is the matter?" Shadow's eyes were bloodshot when she looked down at him, sniffing before she looked away, her brown curls covering her face.

"It's nothing," said Shadow, her voice sounding clogged. Darko could only look at her, unable to think of what to say.

"Please tell me," said Darko. "Has someone found out, has someone said something?" Shadow shook her head, swallowing before she spoke.

"No, it's not that," said Shadow. "I just- can't talk about this." She made to leave, nudging her boots into Dancer's sides, but Darko grabbed Dancer's reins. A single touch of his power was enough to convince the horse to stay.

"Please, my Shadow," said Darko. "Tell me what is troubling you, I hate to see you so sad."

Sniffing, Shadow dismounted and began walking away, towards the sand at the edge of the river. Thankfully, she stopped at the edge, the water lapping the toes of her boots while the heels of her boots sank into the wet sand.

"I just don't feel good enough for you," said Shadow, finally turning those bloodshot eyes to him. Darko blinked, confused.

"How can you say that?" Darko asked, genuinely confused. Shadow must have heard it, because she frowned at him.

"I'm nothing, compared to you," said Shadow, tears making fresh tracks down her cheeks. "I mess up spells, I'm a simple stable girl, hell, half the time time I can't even finish a race properly without messing it up. And a lot of my horses still aren't anywhere near trained to show quality..."

"My Shadow, we all make mistakes and have areas that we can improve in," said Darko, taking Shadow's hands in his own as he stood beside her. Shadow frowned at their joined hands, but she didn't pull her hands away. "But I can see that wonderful potential in you. You mustn't give up, no matter how hard life gets."

"I wasn't giving up," said Shadow. "I just feel insecure, I guess."

"Do you want to know what I see in you?" Darko asked. Shadow hesitated but then nodded, looking up into his eyes. "I see a wonderful young woman who is strong enough to defy the druids and love me anyway. I see someone who has trained hard to become the person they are today- strong. Magically gifted. Loving, caring, loyal."

"Some loyalty," said Shadow with a snort. "I'm going behind the druids' back to be with you."

"But you are loyal to me," said Darko. "To our cause. You looked beyond their light, beyond their lies, and saw me. Us. Our cause."

"I guess," said Shadow. "But you could have anyone, someone more powerful, someone who has a clue what they're doing. Someone you don't need to mentor. That'd save you a lot of time."

"Do you truly believe that I dislike being your mentor?" Darko asked, eyes widening in shock.

"Honestly, yeah," said Shadow, nodding as more tears streaked down her cheeks. Darko gaped, shaking his head and moving his hands up to brush tears from Shadow's cheeks with his thumbs.

"Our training, my Shadow, is something that I look forward to every day," said Darko. "If only because it allows us to spend time together."

"We could be spending that time together doing other things, though," Shadow argued. "Things like watching a movie or going on dates or anything other than training."

"But I enjoy training with you," said Darko. "Seeing you flourish, seeing you master a spell, is worth all of the failures and disappointments. It all fades away when I see that look in your eyes, the triumph when you finally master a spell."

"And you wouldn't choose anyone else?" Shadow asked. "Because you could have literally anyone."

"Why would I ever choose anyone else?" Darko asked. "My promise to make you queen was not an empty promise, my Shadow. I meant that, and I still mean it now, when I say that I love you and I would like you to be my queen to rule Jorvik alongside me."

"But are you sure?" Shadow asked. "I seem to fail more than I succeed."

"It will not always be that way, my Shadow," said Darko, cupping Shadow's face in his hand. "As you train, you will become more powerful, better at what you do. And I will be right there alongside you, helping you to unlock your true potential."

And gradually, it sank in. Darko had ridden all the way here just to find Shadow, after she hadn't turned up for their training session. And he'd looked so worried when she'd first glimpsed his face. He really did care about her. And he'd always be there for her. Shadow knew that in her heart, despite the voices in her head constantly declaring that she wasn't good enough, that she was nowhere near his equal.

"Okay," said Shadow, looking up at him and taking a deep breath. "Let's go home. I don't want to train, though, I'm... tired." Mentally, emotionally, physically. She'd barely been able to sleep from the sadness cloaking her thoughts.

"Then we can simply watch a movie together," said Darko. Shadow smiled at him, only a small smile, but a real one nonetheless.

"I like that idea," said Shadow. And this time, when Darko created a portal leading to Dark Core in the old smuggler's hideout near Moorland by the Silversong river, his Shadow rode into the portal beside him. At his side, exactly where she belonged. His queen.


End file.
